Townsville City Council is partnering with Containers for Change for a Townsville-first trial to increase container recycling and benefit the community.
The trial involves installing 50 Container Exchange Points to public bins along The Strand and Jezzine Barracks for residents and visitors to place their eligible containers.
Residents will be able to collect containers from these exchange points and take them to Containers for Change for a refund.
The trial will monitor if the new Container Exchange Points result in an increase in the number of containers recovered and a reduction in bin diving.
Acting Mayor Ann-Maree Greaney said the trial went hand-in-hand with Council's commitment to reducing waste and diverting material from landfill.
"Council is continuously working to innovate how our city handles waste and recycling. Our trial with Containers for Change is a low-cost and simple innovation to increase container recycling and reduce waste to landfill," Cr Greaney said.
"We know that there are members of our community who want to take containers to a Containers for Change recycling point who are resorting to bin diving, which means they're coming into contact with other waste. Our trial will combat this issue, providing a dedicated place for recyclable containers to be placed and collected by members of the community.
"We're starting off with 50 Container Exchange Points along The Strand and Jezzine Barracks and, depending on the success of this trial, we may look to expand in other areas across the city."
Natalie Roach, Chief Executive Officer of Container Exchange, the not-for-profit that runs Containers for Change, said the new Container Exchange Points would make it easier for people to recycle when out and about.
"Townsville is home to many enthusiastic recyclers with more than 88 million containers returned through Containers for Change in Townsville last year," Ms Roach said.
"These convenient Container Exchange Points mean those who don't want to hold onto their container can leave it for others to collect the 10-cent refund.
"Container Exchange is proud to partner with the Townsville City Council to ensure no container goes to waste so we can protect our beautiful environment and direct more refunds into our communities."
To learn more about Containers for Change, including where to return containers, visit the Containers for Change website
